Finding a comfortable seat.
Sitting with your spine tall your neck straight in parallel to the mat.
Soften your gaze or close your eyes if that feels good.
And let your hands rest somewhere either on your legs or on your lap Roll your shoulders down your back.
And just feel your body on your mat.
Feel the areas of your body that are touching the ground.
And just start to feel supported letting go of.
Anything you're holding on to that you can let go of.
Maybe it's.
Your jaw,
Your forehead.
Maybe it's a thought.
Task on your to-do list.
See if you can let it go for now.
And arrive here.
Coming to your breath.
Just notice.
How your breath is moving in and out of your body.
Notice if it's fast or slow,
Deep or shallow.
And without changing it just follow the air in and out of your body.
Taking a few cleansing breaths here together take a deep breath in through your nose.
Open your mouth and slowly sigh it out.
Two more just like that deep inhale through your nose And exhale slowly through the mouth.
Let it go.
And last one.
Empty all the air out.
And then continue breathing deeply in and out of your nose if that feels good for you.
And as you breathe here,
Bring your awareness to your body.
Please notice.
How your body feels today.
Notice if there's any part of your body that's maybe a little tight or sore that may need a little bit more love during practice.
And just be mindful of that.
If anything I say during practice doesn't feel right for you please don't do it.
Come out of the pose.
And take a resting posture that works for you.
In the end,
We hold poses for longer duration.
So you want to always make sure that you're not holding any pain or discomfort.
Making sure that you go to your edge.
For every pose.
And then back out just a little bit so you feel comfortable.
Take a deep breath in.
Exhale all the air out.
From here slowly start to roll onto your hands and knees into a tabletop position to start.
So in tabletop.
Wrists under your shoulders,
Knees right underneath your hips.
You can keep your toes tucked if that feels better.
Or pad your knees.
I have two mats here and a blanket.
So making sure that your knees are comfortable.
Spread your fingers wide.
Pull your belly towards your spine.
And then moving through some cat-cows.
So as you inhale.
Drop your belly.
Open up your heart.
Look up.
Exhale to round your back,
Tuck your tail,
Look down.
Inhale,
Drop your belly,
Open up your heart,
Look up,
Tail pose.
Exhale to round your back,
Tuck your tail,
Look down,
Cat pose.
One more inhale.
And exhale Good.
From here,
Bring your knees as wide as the mat.
Big toes together and then push your hips towards your heels coming to child's pose.
And for this child's pose,
You can grab a pillow or bolster and just bring your.
.
.
Upper body onto your prop if you can go all the way down to the mat you can do that Wherever you are,
Allow your head to rest on something.
So either on.
The mat on a block on your bolster.
And you can bring your forehead down or maybe bring the side of your head down on the prop.
So your hips are moving towards your heels not necessarily touching.
Allow your shoulders.
To move away from your ears and be soft.
And comfortable.
Then notice if there's anything you're holding on to that you can soften.
Really allowing.
Your mat to hold you and support you.
We're not going to be here for too long.
Just notice how this feels in your body.
If your head is turned to one side,
You can turn it to the other bringing the other cheek on.
The ground or on your pillow and your bolster.
Taking deep,
Long breaths in and out of your nose.
And from here,
Slowly start to come out of the pose.
And moving back to tabletop.
So bringing your knees under your hips,
Wrists under your shoulders.
And moving through some more cat-cows.
So as you inhale,
Drop your belly.
Open up your heart.
Look up.
Exhale to round your back,
Tuck your tail,
Look down.
Inhale to cow pose.
And exhale to cat.
One more inhale.
And exhale.
Good,
Slowly come back to tabletop,
Tuck your toes,
And then push your hips up and back,
Moving to downward facing dog.
Good,
So first down dog,
Maybe bend one knee and then the other.
Just noticing how this feels in your body.
Being in down dog doesn't feel right.
You can stay in tabletop position.
And then coming to stillness,
Bend your knees a lot.
Push your hips up towards the ceiling.
Let your head be heavy.
Maybe nod your head yes,
Shake your head no.
Good.
From here slowly bring your knees down.
And then stepping the right foot forward.
You're going to come to a low lunge.
So you can bring your hands to either side.
The front foot.
You can bring blocks.
And to either side of your foot and just bring your hands there if that feels good let's see if you can walk your back knee back a little bit more just feeling the stretch in the top of your left thigh in your hip Make sure the front knee is right over your ankle.
And you can stay here for a few breaths.
See if you can allow your shoulders to be soft.
We're going to be here for about five breaths.
So breathing deeply,
You can soften your gaze or close your eyes.
Just notice where you feel this pose.
Now we can stay here or if you want to move into.
Dragon pose you can start to heel toe heel toe your right foot towards the right side of the mat and then just allow your toes maybe to spill off the mat Check your front knee.
Make sure your knee is moving towards your toes.
So you may need to adjust your foot depending on where your knee is moving.
And then from here,
You can stay here.
You can walk the back knee back a little bit more.
You can stay here with your hands on the mat.
Or you can bring your elbows down on the mat or on prop.
So just taking a few moments here to really find your pose.
You should feel this.
And the top of your left thigh and your hip.
And your hip flexors.
And just making sure there's no pain.
Especially in your knee.
Making sure your shoulders are soft.
You can let your head hang heavy or rest on something.
And.
.
.
When you find a place that feels comfortable.
We're going to hold this.
For a few minutes.
So come to stillness where you feel comfortable.
And pause.
Just breathe here.
If your mind starts to wander.
It's completely normal.
See if you can gently guide it back to your you About a minute left in this pose.
And see if you can really slow down your breath.
Follow the air as it enters your nostrils.
Really lengthen your exhale.
Feeling the air as it leaves your body.
Good take a deep breath in And a long breath out.
Good,
Slowly from here start to.
Come out of the pose really gently Moving your props away,
Slowly walk your foot back to the center of the mat,
Being really mindful.
And it may feel good to maybe pull your hips back,
Straighten your leg.
Move back and forth a couple of times It may feel good to come to child's pose or downward facing dog.
So just taking a few moments here to Take a few moments,
A few movements to let that go.
When you're ready,
Come back to your hands and knees,
Tabletop position.
And then this time step the left foot forward.
Coming back to your low lunge,
Starting off with your hands on either side of your left foot.
You can have your fingertips,
Your palms on the ground,
Or you can use blocks.
Either side of your foot.
Again,
You can move your knee back,
Right knee back a little bit.
Just noticing how this feels.
In your body on this side making sure your front knee is right over your ankle.
Breathing deeply.
And you can stay here if this is enough,
If you're already feeling a stretch on the top of your right thigh.
Don't want to go any deeper if you want a little bit more you start to walk your foot towards the left side of the mat and just allow your toes to spill off the mat checking your knee making sure it's moving towards your toes and then from here again finding pose where you can hold for time so if you need to use props you can bring blocks bolster Under your elbows,
Maybe you can bring your elbows all the way down to the mat.
Maybe you walk the back knee back a little bit more.
So taking a few moments to get saddled and comfortable.
And just recognize that this side may feel different from the first.
So don't expect it to look the same.
Don't expect to use the same props on the side.
It may be completely different.
When you find your pose,
When you find your edge.
Come to stillness and come back to your breath.
Breathing deeply.
And just continuously bringing your awareness back to your breath.
Your mind is going to wander.
And it's completely normal As soon as you recognize that it has,
Just bring your awareness back.
Finally gently Purposefully bring your awareness back to your breath.
Notice if the sensations in your body I started to.
.
.
Get a little bit stronger.
See if you need to back out a little bit or maybe go a little bit deeper.
Or maybe you stay here.
Notice where you feel the pose and see if you can send your breath to that area in your body.
Take a deep breath in.
And a long breath out.
Slowly start to bring your hands down on the mat.
And move your props away and start to walk your foot back to the center.
Coming out of the pose slowly and mindfully.
Maybe it feels good to straighten your leg,
Pull your hips back.
Move back and forth a few times.
Maybe it feels good to move into child's pose.
Or downward facing dog for a breath or two.
And then when you're ready,
Coming down to your knees.
Bring your knees as wide as the mat,
Big toes together and then push your hips back towards your heels.
Coming to Child's Pose,
We're going to be here for.
.
.
Three breaths,
So not long.
And see if you can allow your mind to.
.
.
Come to this moment.
And let go of the poses that we did so far.
Letting that go completely.
And just arriving here.
From here,
Slowly come on to your knees.
We're going to be moving into camel pose.
So if you have blocks.
You can set up for this pose and bring your blocks just to the outside of your feet.
Either on the highest height or the medium height and just start by Stacking your hips right over your knees you can come to the tops of the feet or tuck your toes if that feels better And just notice how this feels in your knees.
So you may want to bring a blanket or fold up your mat.
Make sure there's padding underneath.
And just pause here.
So we're going to move through a few variations in this.
And you can choose which one.
You would like to hold.
So starting with your shoulders right over your hips,
Hips right over your knees.
And you can bring your hands to your lower back.
So you're just going to have your fingers pointing down like you're putting your hands in your jean pockets in the back.
And just really supporting your lower back with your palms.
You're going to start to lean back and push your hips forward.
So not a huge back bend,
You're just leaning back.
And pushing your hips forward so your hips are still over your knees.
Just moving back.
You're taking a couple breaths here.
Noticing how this feels in your lower back.
See if you can roll your shoulders back and down away from your ears.
And you can have your chin tucked to make sure your neck is staying long.
Pausing here for a couple of breaths.
Good.
Now come back to center.
You can sit back on your heels if you need a little break.
And just pause here.
Hands either on your lap or on your legs.
Just pause here and notice how that felt in your body.
And then when you're ready,
Come back to your knees,
Your hips right over your knees,
Shoulders over your hips.
And then you can come back to the same pose.
Or you can start to lean back,
Push your hips forward,
And maybe you bring your hands onto your block.
So your fingertips on your block.
Or you can bring your hands to your ankles if that feels good.
So starting with maybe the highest height if you have block.
Or if you're bringing your hands to your heels.
Um,
Just.
Make sure your toes are tucked so your heels are raised.
And again,
You're trying to push your hips forward.
Open up your heart.
Shoulders down your back.
Again,
Keep your chin tucked.
To start.
Good.
And breathe here.
Just noticing how this back bend feels.
Notice if it's too much.
Make sure there's no pain.
We're just trying it out to see which one feels better.
So when we're holding,
We know which one we need to go to.
Deep breath in.
And then slowly start to come up and sit back down on your heels.
Again,
Bringing your hands somewhere on your legs or on your laps.
Just noticing the effects of that pose in your body.
And then for the next round,
You can do any of those or maybe adjust your props,
Maybe bring the top of the foot on the mat if you want to go a little bit deeper.
If that was already enough,
Just take one of those first two options.
If you want to try a little bit deeper,
You can maybe lower your props or come to the top of your foot.
Again,
Just really pressing your hips forward,
Opening up your heart.
Leaning back.
Keep your chin tucked.
And breathe.
Good.
If you're all the way down,
Slowly bring your hands to your lower back.
And start to lift up sit back on your heels and just pause here And then just notice which one of those three options feels right in your body.
And we're not going to hold for too long.
We're going to be there about.
A minute or so.
So find the option that felt really good in your body and you think you can hold for a bit longer.
Come back up to your hands and knees.
You can start by bringing your hands to your lower back,
Starting to lean back.
Pushing your hips forward and then maybe bringing your hands to your prop or to your heels.
And just breathing here,
Finding your position.
And then finding your stillness and finding your breath.
Soften your gaze or close your eyes.
Notice if you're clenching your jaw.
If you're pressing your tongue to your teeth.
See if you can soften and let go.
30 seconds left.
Take a deep breath in.
Long breath out.
Slowly bring your hands.
To your lower back.
And then sit back down on your heels,
Bring your hands on your legs.
Just pause here shoulders stack over your hips soften your gaze or close your eyes and notice how your body feels.
You may feel a rush.
Of energy through your body.
Through your head.
And just sit with that for a breath or two.
Get.
Inhale,
Reach your arms all the way up.
And then we're going to come to an easy twist.
So bring your right hand behind you,
Left hand to the outside of your right knee.
Inhale to sit tall.
Exhale,
Twist from the belly.
Come back to center.
Inhale.
Reach up.
Exhale left hand behind you right hand to the outside of the left knee inhale to sit tall and exhale to twist.
Slowly come back to center.
And then we're going to come to Child's Pose.
So you can have your knees together or knees mat distance apart.
Big toes together.
And then just slowly roll onto your thighs.
You can bring your arms back or forward.
Whatever feels good.
Just rounding over.
Rounding your back.
Allowing your lower back to release.
Pausing here for a few more breaths.
Get it from here we're going to come back up and move into onto our belly so just rolling on to your You can stack your hands and bring your forehead onto your hands.
Just pause here.
You can maybe bend your knees and windshield wiper your knees from side to side.
Again just releasing your lower back.
And then bringing your feet down,
Tops of the feet to the mat,
You're going to come into Sphinx Pose.
So starting with your elbows bent,
Elbows right over your shoulders,
Forearms are parallel.
And your palms are facing down.
And just notice how this feels in your lower back.
So if you walk your feet.
Wider apart.
This feels a little bit easier on your back if you walk them closer.
This becomes a little bit more intense so just walking your feet closer or further just noticing which one feels right and then if you want to use props you can bring a bolster Just under.
Your body.
So you can rest your belly or your chest on the bolster.
We can always raise it up with blocks if that feels good.
And see if you can really stack your shoulders over your ankle,
Over your elbows.
And just find a place where you feel a back bend that feels comfortable and good.
Make sure there's no pain.
If there is just come back.
To your belly,
Stack your hands,
Forehead on your hands.
So just noticing that that is also a backbend.
It's a less intense backbend.
So even if your head,
If your forehead is on your hands,
You're still doing a backbend.
So finding your Sphinx pose.
And then maybe bringing props so you can allow your forehead to rest on something.
And just pausing here,
Breathing into this back bend.
Noticing if there's any part of your body that you're holding on to that you can soften and let go of.
Notice if your shoulders are starting to creep up towards your ears.
See if you can roll them down your back and open up your heart.
If having your head hang heavy.
Doesn't feel right in your neck.
You can always try to hold your head up.
Just being really gentle.
Making sure there's This isn't too much effort.
If at any point this starts to become too much.
Just come out of the pose.
Stack your hands.
Bring your forehead onto your hands.
If you want to go a little bit deeper.
You can start to bend one knee and then the other,
Maybe bringing your big toes together.
If you try this out and doesn't feel good just come back And if you're not feeling anything and you want a little bit more,
You can start to come to seal pose.
So starting off with the tops of the feet on the mat,
You can start to walk your hands.
Forward and wide so maybe they move off the mat and just bringing your hands really wide And this is.
.
.
Very intense backbend.
So if you try it out.
It's too much.
Please come out of the pose making sure you're not holding any pain or discomfort If you have any kind of lower back.
Issues or sensitivity.
Please come out of this pose and if you want more,
You can walk your hands closer to you.
So if you need to make adjustments,
Do that.
Find a place where you can hold and come to stillness.
We're going to be here for another minute or so.
So you're either on your belly With your hands stacked,
Forehead on your hand.
You're in Sphinx pose.
Oh,
You're in seal.
Wherever you are,
Soften your gaze,
Soften your jaw,
Your forehead.
I'm going to take a deep breath in.
Fill your body up.
And a long breath out.
Let it go.
One more like that.
Deep inhale.
Full exhale.
Now slowly start to come out of the pose if your elbows are lifted to bring them down.
And then come all the way down,
Stack your hands.
Forehead on your hands.
And just slowly.
Rock your hips from side to side just moving really gently letting that go.
You can bend your knees and windshield wiper.
Your feet from side to side.
Just really mindful.
Of the tension in your lower back.
Okay,
From here.
Bring your feet together so the legs extended long and you're just going to bend your right knee and bringing it on the mat keeping it on the floor by your side.
Just bring your knee up to the level of your hips or lower.
And Turn your head towards the right side,
So towards your right knee.
And just rest here.
We're not going to be here for too long.
This is a really good release in your lower back.
So make sure that Um,
There's no pain anywhere in your body.
Soften your shoulders.
And just breathe here for a breath or two.
We're not going to be here for too long.
This should feel really comfortable.
Get slowly.
Start to come back to center.
Bring your forehead onto your hands.
We're going to move to the second side.
So bending your left knee,
Just keeping your knee on the ground,
Bring your knee to the level of your hip.
Turn your head towards your bent knee.
Just pause here again.
This should feel really good.
So make sure that There's no pain or discomfort.
A really good release in your lower back.
Slowly come back to center.
And then.
.
.
Push yourself up to your hands and knees and we're gonna come to our back.
So make your way to your back.
Make sure your props are close by if you have them.
Come to your back and start with your knees bent,
Feet flat on the mat.
And just maybe lift your hips up.
Ground your lower back,
Bring your hips back down.
Good.
Start here with your arms by your side or your hands somewhere on your body.
